Students across Wellington are paying high rental prices, but some of the flats they're living in are deteriorating and "unhealthy".
"There's mold in the shower, cracks everywhere, punches in the wall, it's a pretty bad state," said Ben Forbes, 19, who lives in a flat in Kelburn.
The four bedroom flat he rents is $1060 a week and he pays $265 for a single bedroom.
The kitchen is "narrow" with appliances broken. He said only one person at a time can be in there. "It's pretty grim."
Forbes said when they moved into the flat it wasn't clean and there was further damage after they signed the lease.
"It was in a bad state I guess, if you look at the carpets, the bathroom wasn't cleaned, showers have mold in it... pretty bad over all."
There were extra holes in the walls which were now covered in duct tape.
Forbes questioned if the rental reached Healthy Homes Standard.
"Living here is a different story, it's cold at night. it's pretty bad."
When Forbes approached the landlord about the issues he said he was "ghosted" and didn't get a reply.
For $240 Trent Wallace, 20, said he gets "barely a living space and a patio that is breaking away and falling off the cliff, and one single bathroom".
Another neighbour Jake Webb, 20, said his home doesn't have insulation and believed it did not not comply with the Healthy Homes Standard.
"There's one room downstairs that has a damp corner and in that room everything gets covered in mold and there's someone living there."
'It's a good thing to guarantee the minimums standards of accommodation'
Capital Property Investor Association's Adam Cockburn told Breakfast "the Healthy Homes Act is there to guarantee a minimum standard of all rental accommodation".
"This covers things like, as they said, insulation, heating, draft stopping, ventilation and drainage".
For example, the Act outlines that there must be correct insulation installed or landlords could be liable for damages of up to $7020.
"This obviously adds cost to the landlords but overall I think it's a good thing to guarantee the minimums standards of accommodation," he said.
Forbes said: "It's scary to think about, you're on your own now".
"It's the first time away from home and there's a lot to think about when it comes to tenancy law."
Currently, Wellington students are paying plenty for a place to stay.
"Property investors are not immune to inflation," Cockburn said.
"We've seen enormous increases in council rates and up to 50% per annum increases in insurance lately. So these are enormous increases in the cost to provide accommodation, that does not justify the condition of the property."
Supply and demand drives the prices up, but not the quality.
Now these students are pointing the finger at their living environment for impacting their studies.
“The lack of insulation with the holes in the wall and gaps under the doors don’t help. You don’t want to come home at the end of the day after studying all day or being at work,” Wallace said.
"The amount we're paying to come back and try and work as well as have a job is pretty stressful. It's draining. It's not nice to come back to a flat where there's holes in the wall and the carpet stinks, it's a grim place," Forbes said.
Those living conditions are impacting not just their budget but their health.
"The cold and dampness of it means we're getting sick quite a lot," Webb said.
"All of us have had the cold and the flu multiple times this summer already. It makes a real impact on our living."
To afford the high price point for a Wellington flat, these students need to work a part time job on top of their full time study.
"Study Link covers my rent, but doesn't leave enough for food and everything like that. It's pretty stressful," Forbes said.
"I have to work 12-16 hours a week, usually a night shift so it doesn't affect my studying but in return it does affect my studying," Webb said.
Now they're calling for change from landlords
"See it from our perspective," he urged
"Think about what you would expect from the situations you are putting us in. Cut prices down or fix what’s going on," Webb said.
SHARE ME